Russian diplomats vacated three properties in the United States on Saturday including the six-story consulate in San Francisco, complying with a US order issued in retaliation for Moscow cutting the American diplomatic presence in Russia.

The United States on Thursday ordered Russia to close its consulate in San Francisco as well as two annexes in Washington and New York in two days, in a tit-for-tat response to Moscow's drastic reduction of US diplomatic staff in their country.

Veteran diplomat Anatoly Antonov, appointed Russia's new ambassador to the US on Monday, at a time when ties are at dangerously low ebb, has the reputation of being a tough negotiator with a deep suspicion of Washington.

US President Donald Trump grudgingly signed into law new sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, a move Moscow said amounted to a full-scale trade war and an end to hopes for better ties with the Trump administration.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that the U.S. diplomatic missions in Moscow and elsewhere in the country will have to reduce their staffs by 755 people, signaling a dramatic escalation in the Russian response to American sanctions over the Kremlin's intervention in the 2016 presidential elections.

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned US cruise missile strikes on Syria as illegal on Friday, warning the move would further damage already battered US-Russia relations which Moscow had hoped President Donald Trump would revive.

President Donald Trump is firing back at the top Senate Democrat calling for an investigation into his administration's alleged Kremlin ties - by tweeting out pictures of him hobnobbing with Russian President Vladimir Putin almost 14 years ago.

Russian diplomats vacated three properties in the United States on Saturday including the six-story consulate in San Francisco, complying with a US order issued in retaliation for Moscow cutting the American diplomatic presence in Russia.

The United States on Thursday ordered Russia to close its consulate in San Francisco as well as two annexes in Washington and New York in two days, in a tit-for-tat response to Moscow's drastic reduction of US diplomatic staff in their country.

Veteran diplomat Anatoly Antonov, appointed Russia's new ambassador to the US on Monday, at a time when ties are at dangerously low ebb, has the reputation of being a tough negotiator with a deep suspicion of Washington.

US President Donald Trump grudgingly signed into law new sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, a move Moscow said amounted to a full-scale trade war and an end to hopes for better ties with the Trump administration.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Sunday that the U.S. diplomatic missions in Moscow and elsewhere in the country will have to reduce their staffs by 755 people, signaling a dramatic escalation in the Russian response to American sanctions over the Kremlin's intervention in the 2016 presidential elections.

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned US cruise missile strikes on Syria as illegal on Friday, warning the move would further damage already battered US-Russia relations which Moscow had hoped President Donald Trump would revive.

President Donald Trump is firing back at the top Senate Democrat calling for an investigation into his administration's alleged Kremlin ties - by tweeting out pictures of him hobnobbing with Russian President Vladimir Putin almost 14 years ago.